I
I
FORTY YEARS AGO
IN PLATTSEflOUTH
Miouri IIiM'i A"ain.
In district Court.
B5gn8V4,ViJM'.'.ti2B
The Mbsorri
;ac g, t by
;r.i last nlht
rr.
First Shovelful of Dirt Thrown
on Burlington Road in Ne
braska, July 5, 1869
r is kr"-;,ir.fi ur
;!.? r-t ( f nature,
started on the uu-
jgrale ni;aln. making the fourth rlso
:f t this year, something out of the
Ordinary. The ris last night wasithe latter wa9 ac'iuatnted with tbt
, ' i.all, hut It is the starter for what
Juuge Pemberton of Ccs trite Tues
day hilj district (O'irt aud liarl
the case of Clark vs. Fleishman et al.
, having been called In by Judge
Travis on account of the fact that
A ppeclal from Lincoln, under ties were laid, followed by the Initial
date of July 5, 1909, has the follow
ing to say In reference to Platts
mouth forty years ago: Forty
years ago today ground was broken
for the Burlington & Missouri rail
way In Nebraska.
It was at 11 o'clock In the morn
ing of July 5, 1869, that the first
shovelful of dirt was thrown at
riattsmouth. The then pioneer town
find stage fetation waB in gala rai
ment and Rplrlts and several thou
sand people, a ponderous crowd for
a frontier settlement, had assembled
to witness the event and participate
in the attendant festivities.
The late John Fitzgerald, who did
so much toward girdling this part of
the earth with railroads, had Just
completed the making of the big'
tut for the Hurllngton main lino at
Glenwood, la., some tin miles east
of Plattsniouth, and had come across
to begin a contract for sixty miles of
the' new lino In Nebraska. That
hlxty mile was to begin at Platts
mouth and extend to a point five
miles west of Lincoln. It Is Raid
that there Is now standing a post to
mark the termination of that orig
inal sixty-mile undertaking.
Fitzgerald's big crew of laborers
constituted a material part of the
great assembly at Plattsmouth and
every laborer in It was accorded sig
nal attention and honor on thnt day
by the proud people of Plattsmouth
and Its surroundings. The men wire
given the freedom of the city, and
there was nothing too good for them.
They were the heroes of the oc
casion. Tom O'Connor, now In business
In this city, and ever since that day
a citizen of Nebraska, was one of
the young men In the party and Is
full of reminiscences of the primi
tive celebration. He recalls the
prodigal generosity of the PIntts
mouthlans of 'fill with eonsldernb!
enthusiasm, even to the distribution
of barrels of whisky through the nd-
Jncent groves, each with n tin ptnt
cup attached, whereat anyono might
slake his thirst and sloke up his en
thuslnsm. There was plenty to eat
and everything wh fre(. nnd wel
come.
Prayer uiul Whisky.
li. rf . ii
mi. u Liiiiiiur rerans innt it wns
Mayor John Simpson of Plattsmouth
wno threw the first shovelful of
dirt. Prayers for the success of the
undertaking had been uttered, but
he Is unable to say which really did
the most toward speeding the tre
mendous project, the prayers or the
whisky. Hut the whisky cut con
slderabie llguro just at that time.
After the mayor the shovel was
manipulated by the mayor's wifi
then his daughter, and then by Mr
Fitzgerald. Following the latter Tom
O'Connor took a hand nt tho shovel
It was after a space of some f00 or
600 feet long had been cleared and
leveled by tho shovelers that tho first
rails and the driving of the first
spike. It was the wife of the mayor
who undertook to drive the first
spike. Numerous bands played dur
ing the ceremonies and there was
plenty of shouting and singing.
Labor waB at that time quite easily
obtainable because of the fact that
work on a big section of the Union
Pacific had Just been completed and
the men drifted toward the new
works. Hence it was that in Just a
year from the Initial work at Platts
mouth the first excursion train was
run to Lincoln over the new line,
and the event was duly celebrated
at this end on July 4. True, the line
did not reach clear to Lincoln at
that time, but It was within hailing
distance. The grado bad reached this
ity, but the track bad only been laid
to Stevens creek, n point about, seven
miles east of the city, w hero for many
years afterward a sldo track station
was called Newton.
Travel on Flat Curs.
It was in the early morning that
train load of enthusiasts left
Plattsmouth to tra verso the Platte
valley to Stevens creek on flat cars.
They were met at that point by peo
ple from the capital city and es
corted Into Lincoln In carryals.
"I remember that there was a
celebration here that day'snysTom
O'Connor, "but I don't remember
much about It. I do remember, how
ever, that one of the first things 1 did
was to go up to the old capitol build
ing and chip oft a piece to send back
to my old home In Pennsylvania. The
capitol. was a frame building and
easily chipped."
It was shortly after that Fourth
of July that the road was completed
Into Lincoln, where It took thirteen
or fourteen years to complete it Into
Denver. For many years the main
line did not touch Omaha. The
trains of tho road were run across
the river at Plattsmouth and up Ue
Platte valley to this city, while
stub train from Oreapolls, four or
five miles from, Plattsmouth. con
nected with Omaha. It was In the
early '80s that tho line from Omaha
to Ashland was built, what was long
known us the Ashland cut-off. nnd
mnln line trains were sent around
through Omaha."
Tom O'Connor recounts with
great deal of pride his participation
In tho Installation and construction
of the Hurllngton in Nebraskn, with
which ho was afterwards for four
teen years connected as a conductor,
no enumerates several other Lincoln
peopio who were present nt the
initial cremonles at Plattsmouth
Among them Is Julius Pepperberg,
the well known cigar manufacturer
nt Eighth nnd O streets, who wn
then In business In Plattsmouth. An
other Is Ed McGeer. a farmer living
near Duvey, and a man named Dul
lonty, now living In Lincoln, who
was one of the Fitzgerald force In
that day.
may develop into a big rise before it
ends. Reports from up the river in
dicate a rise of a foot or more al
ready In sight, with heavy rains over
the entire drainage basin of the
.Missouri. There have been very
heavy rains, causing floods In the
moutalns, which will drain very
largely Into the Platte, Yellowstone
and upper Missouri, and If these all
arrive together there is good pros
pects for the river nearlng the dan
ger line.
Reports from across the river In
dicate that the farmers In the bot
toms below Pacific Junction have
been having a lot of trouble controll
ing Keg creek, which Is diked below
that point for the protection of the
farm lands. This dike has been
threatening to break for several days
on account of the high water from
the recent heavy rains and farmers
have been busy hauling material
with which to strengthen it.
From the morning papers it is
learned thnt great property loss and
some lives lost, has been the result
of the rains and the resulting floods
in Missouri, Kansas and points In
Iowa. The floods have been espe
cially severe In Misosurl, as will be
seen by a glance at the telegraph
pages In the Journal. Pattonsburg,
Chllllcotho and many other towns of
large size are under water, which Is
still rising. Kansas Cltv is aeain
threatened with a great flood from
the rising Missouri and Kaw rivers,
and a gloomy outlook seems In store
for the people living In the lower
valleys of the two rivers. Platts
mouth people, after reading the ac
counts of the loss and disasters which
are overwhelming the other cities In
the Missouri valley can now realize
that they really are fortunate that
their losses In past years by flood
were no greater than they were. So
far this year mntters In this line
have not been bad here, although
excessive rainfall has taken place on
several occasions. The excellent ef
fects of lowering the streets saved
the city from one flood, and in that
alone paid for Its cost. Our people
can now sympathize with thore In
other cities who are suffering.
facta in the case and did not care
to take charge of the hearing on
iliat account. The entries of Judg j
Fembertson in the case follow:
The order entered on June 10. Is
set aside and re-argument of the mo
tion ordered. The motion to appress
the deposition of ThoB. M. Howard
overruled as the admissibility of the
testimony of said witness will be
passed upon In the trial of the c:e.
Plalntll excepts to the order overrul
ing said motion. Defendant demand j
trial of Issues of fact to a Jury which
U refused by the court for the reason
that the defense set up In the fourth
paragraph of the amended answer is
wholly equitable and said paragraph
virtually admits that the legal title
to said land Is In the plaintiff.
Yesterday Judge Pemberton and a
Jury composed of Oliver C. Dovey,
Charles Gerlach, Lyman James, G:o.
Horn, Matt Jirousek, Dave Amick,
Peter Campbell, Q. K. Parmele, V.
0. Ogden, J. F. llenninga, D A.
Mlller.and Geo. W. Snyder, are hear
ing the case of Lau against Hall.
This Is a damage case in which Lau
seeks damages in the sum of $10,300
tisaipst Hall for keeping a vicious
stallion. The stallion Jumnad unon
Lau who had entered Its presence
tnd trampled him, Inflicting severe
injuries to him. He alleges the ani
mal was vicious and not properly
looked after by Hall, its owner, who
also failed to provide safe halters and
other harness for restraining the ani
mal. There is a vast array of wit
nesses from Elmwood, Eagle and
Alvo and that vicinity and the case
will be sometime In trying. Lau is
represented by Hon. Geo. V. Berge of
Lincoln.
A case filed with Clerk of the
Court Robertson yesterday seeks
a Judgment against the C. B. & Q.
Ry. in the sum of $1,186 for dam
ages to a stallion, horses and house
hold goods which plaintiff had
shipped from a point on the C. & N.
W. Ry. to Cedar Creek. Plaintiff
alleges that while the car Btood In
the Plattsmouth yards on March 22,
1909, the servants and switchmen
of the defendant snunted the car
about with unnecessary violence so
that the stallion was Injured so bad
ly that it died and the remaining
articles were also , put out of busl-
Sxiew Land Chances!
FLATHEAD INDIAN RESERVATION: Registcter at Kalispell, Moat.
on the Great Northern Railway.
C0EU?. D'ALENE RESERVATION: Register at Coeur d'Alene. Idaho
(Buy tickets to Spokane.)
SPOKANE RESERVATION: Register at Spokane, Washington.
Registration dates July 15th to August 5th, inclusive. This is an
other of the remainining few chances for this generation to ohtain good
government lands. Call on nearest ticket agent for descriptive leaflet,
showing conditions, excursion rates, train service, ect.
The Burlington-Great Northern, Spokane and Seattle train takes
ou through the wealth producing Wenatchee fruit country, and shows
you the wonderful upper northwest empire; every mile is interesting.
Bl'j HUKn BA3IN: A splendid choice of the government irrigated
ands is still left to homesteaders in this fast growidg country.
320-ACRE M0NDELL LANDS: Thousands of acres of these lareer
sized tracts are now available for free homesteading in eastern Wyom-
, ing and are going fast.
Trains to Curry Signs.
Electric lighted signs displayed
from the platform of tho rear end
observation enr will hereafter blazon
the course of two Burlington trains
running between Lincoln and Chi
cago. Tho public get Its first
Rllmpso of them yesterday. "Bur
lington Route" Is tho Inscription
which one of tho signs will flash out
to the world behind in its Journey.
me inner is i nicago-iseurnsKa Lim
Ited
who ought to bo able to hold the
Glenwoods down In good shape, while
Glenwood Is equally strongln the box.
The game promises to bo one of the
best of tho season and deserves to bo
witnessed by n big crowd. The
Plattsmouth boys think they will
take the visitors' scalp.
Depnrts for Lot Angeles.
T. S. Clifford departed this morn
ing for Omnha, from which city, in
company with District Deputy W. S.
Canada, ho will proceed to Los An
geles, Cnl., where he s a delegate to
tho Grand Lodge of the B. P. O. E.
Mr. Clifford. Is for J. U. Sammls of
LeMars, la., for Grand Exalted Ruler.
August (Garry) Hermann of Cincin
nati, O., Is a candidate for the same
position nnd a warm fight Is being
waged for the honor. The eastern
lodges seem to bo strongly for Her
mnnn, while tho western and south
ern lodges are for Sammls. Mr.
Clifford expects to be absent for two
weeks or so, nnd will visit In San
Frnnclsco and Denver before his re
turn. He has relatives on the coast
with whom ho will make a short
Islt. Tho GranJ Lodge at Los An
geles bids fair to be the largest at
tended and the most successful ever
held In tho history oftheorder. Great
preparations have been mnde for the
entertainment of the guests and' the
urn of $106,000 has been raised to
see the program arranged is carried
out. Several points on the route to
tho coast have also made arrange
ments to show visiting delegiktlons
royal time, Including Salt Lake
City, which has an elaborate program
mapped out for all week for the en
tertainment of delegations passing
hrough the city. Detroit, Mich., will
receive the next Grand Lodge.
File Your Paper
Tho candidates who yearn to serve
Tho letters nro largo enough ithn ,,,0I,,, Public officers should
to bo read easily 200 feet away In
daylight and nearly as far at night.
They aro pnlnted white on a red
background, the whole being en
closed In a Russia Iron fence about
two feet square, painted blnck. Tho
illumination at night Is furnished by
four electric lights Inside of tho box
like structure. Current Is supplied
from tho Interior of tho car and can
bo turned off or on at any time by
moving a lever nt tho switchboard.
In daylight or In darkness, tho signs
will bo conspicuous. Stnto Jonrnnl.
Will Play l ast Hull.
1 ho Glenwood imscnall team, one
of tho speediest ball teams of West
tern lown, and a team which has
been given all comers good nnd
plenty defeats, will play tho Plaits
mouth team next Saturday, July 10
Tbla game ought to be a fust one,
for both teams are now In fino fet
tle nnd playing fast ball. PIntts-
mouth bns a quartette of pitchers In
Atkins, McCaulcy, Mason and Rlchey
take due notice thnt the time for
filing notice of their candidacy be
fore tho primaries expires on Satur
day, July 17. Tho law provides that
all applications for places on the prl
mnry tickets shall be filed thirty
dnys before tho primaries, which are
to bo held on the third Tuesday In
August. There have been no appll
cations filed so fur and verv little
talk of any candidates In the field
except those as printed heretofore
In tho Journal. Some doubt exists as
to whether tho candidates for county
Judge, county superintendent and
other offices covered by tho non
partisan act of the last legislature
should go on the primary ballot or
not, as the mntter Is still In the Su
pre mo Court.
rlattsnioutli y. (.IchwimmI on Sat
imliiy, June 10. A good ball gnme
nikI two giMul tennis.
Charles Miller, his son John, nnd
John Miller of Omaha, who has been
vlstlng with him, returned to Oruuh
thlsaftr rnoon.
To Construct Forty-Five Miles.
Thigh Broken.
A 7-year-old son of John Janci,
living on Maiden Lane, near Rock
street, yesterday had tho misfortune
to have his thigh broken. The ac
cldent occurred while tho llttlo fel
low was attempting to get on a mov
ing wagon. In company with his
father ho had been watching the
londlng of wood on n wngon, which
tho father was driving to the house
After seeing tho wagon loaded and
wniio it was under way. the boy
sought to climb on It. Ills leg was
caught between tho spokes of tho re
volvlng wheel and the thigh bones
snapped In two. A surgeon was
speedily summoned nnd the broken
limb was set. Tho little fellow sm'
fers Intensely from the pain, but It
la believed the thigh will set nil rlent
and thnt ho will eventually be out
and about again.
I Kurt l 'orgvt ThK
Saturday evening, July 10th Philip
MIM will give a barn dance at hi
tome six miles west of Myarfl
r.vcrycno is invited and a good time
assured to all who attend.
The Burlington has let a contract
for the construction of forty-five
miles of railroad from Thermopolls
0 a point n few miles west. of Sbo
shonl, on the Northwestern'a Leander
ine. McArthur Bros, of Omaha get
he contract. This firm Is said to
have reecntly bought much of the
railroad machinery used formerly by
Kllpntrlck Bros. fc Collins of Bent-
rice.
The cost of this line will be be
tween $3,000,000 and $4,000,000.
making It one of the most expensive
pieces of railroad work In the west.
This great expense Is caused In
large measure by the fact that for
eleven miles through th Big Horn
gorge the line will have to be cut
along th lodge of almost perpendicu
lar jocks far enough above the water
of the river that it may cross the
Boysen dum now installed at the en
trance to the gorge.
Tho construction of the line be
tween KIrby and Thermopolls Is now
In progress.
"We don't hear much about the
Platte valley line these days," says
a Burlington man, "but what do
you suppose Jim Hill is spending
millions for on lines In Wyoming
that can bo made valuable only by
being ronched by the low grade
Platte volley lino, If he does not In
tend to build that road? State
Journal.
Have Fino Time.
A merry load of young men
Sunday drove out to tho home of Geo,
Meislnger, the third, and had a royal
visit with this excellent gentleman
and his estimable family. Thj party
consisted of Messrs Victor Ander
son, A. II. Koubek, Joe Liberslial and
Frank Koubek and the boys returned
more than delighted with the fine
time shown them.
Mrs. Melslnger had prepared
splendid dinner for tho boys . and
they did it ample Justlco feasting In
only tho manner in which city men
eat when they get up against
real fine country dinner. They had
every thing tho season afforded an
It was all splendidly prepared. 1
tho evening they drove homo nfte
a delightful day. tho two who ha
driven out In tho front sent in th
morning riding In tho rear seat com
Ing back by tho simple expedient
of changing tho buggy tongue from
the front to the rear of tho buggy
Anyway they say they did although
It Is more prohablo the young Fprln
chliken they had wrnt to tnolr head
and merely made them think so.
rii
1 11111111 II IIS! D. CLEM flFiVFR Renpnl f
Z-SX.t'J ' "&"'
MOITm SeektrS InformatioaBureau, Omaha, Neb.
Brnntner Wins Case.
Matthew Gering on Saturday re
ceived a letter frim the Clerk of the
Iowa Supreme Court stating that the
case of Gilliland vs. Brantner for at
torney's fees which had been pending
In that court of appeals had been
decided in favor of Mr. Brantner.
The case was brought originally in
Mills county by Shirley Gilliland, an
attorney of Glenwood, who claimed
Hen and attorney's fees against a
udgment which Ed. Brantner of
this city had -secured against the
Burlington railroad for personal in-
urles. Brantner had contracted with
Gilliland to assist Matthew Gering
In prosecuting the case, and agreed
to pay him $200 for his services.
Gilliland considered his services
orth considerably more than this
and sought to enforce his claim In
court. The decision of the supreme
court is a sweeping victory for
Btantner, the court saying amonn
other things the amount $200 is too
low but If was the contracted prlco
and must be accepted by Gilliland in
full. A tender of this amount had
been made Gilliland by Brantner at
tbo trial In the lower court and, the
court holds this was sufficient to
throw the costs made after the tender
or. Gilliland who thus loses his con-
ntion and also the" costs. Matthew
Goring represented Brantner In the
cure and was pleased at the victory.
Sees Mother Grow Young.
it would be hard to overstate
the wonderful change In my mother
since she began to use Electric Bit
ters," writes Airs. W. L. Gilpatrlck
of Danforth. Me. "Although Dast
0 years she seems really to be
growing young again. She suffered
untold misery from dspepsia for 20 1
years. At last she could neither
eat, drink or sleep. Doctors gave
her up and all remedies failed until
Electric Bitters worked such won
ders for her health." They Invigor
ate the vital organs, cure liver
and kidney troubles, Induce sleep,
mpart strength and appetite. Only
10c at F. G. Frlcke & Co.
Submit Case to Jury.
The case of Lau vs. Hall, which
has been occupying the attention of
Judge Pemberton and a Jury In dis
trict court for several days, reached
its conclusion this morning when it
was argud and submtted to the
Jury.
The plaintiff in the use was rep
resented by Attorney Matthew Ger
ing of this city and Attorney W.
Berge of Lincoln, while Attorney
Byron Clark of this city looked after
the interests of Mr. Hall. The en
tire case, which was one for dam
age for Injuries sustained by the
plaintiff from defendant's stallion,
was bitterly contested. The whole
Issue seemed to be as to whether the
defendant had exercised due care in
keeping the animal and a delicate
question arising as to what would
constitute due care. The direct tes
timony on the case seemed to leave
the matter standing upon the evl
flence of the plaintiff and defendant
alone, although there weer many
other witnesses upon various phases
of the case.
Matthew Gering opened the argu
raen for the plaintiff and made a
clear and logical presentation of his
side of the case. Byron Clark fol
lowed for the defendant and also
presented the case for the defndant
In an able and lucid manner. George
W. Berge closed for the plaintiff and
his argument was a good one, In
thorough keeping with his establish
ed reputation as an attorney and an
orator.
Judge Pemberton's Instructions
were decidedly brief and to the point
and almost wholly eliminated the
evidence In the case save as out
lined above. They were regarded a
very fair by thos who had heard the
case.
The undersigned has about 40
acres of good grass to rent for pas
turing horses only. Good running
water and plenty of shade. One
dollar per month per head.
C. Bengen,
1 miles south of Plattsmouth.
A Xlght Klder's ICaiil.
The worst night riders are calo
mel croton oil or aloes pills. They
raid your bed to rob you of rest.
Not so with Dr. King's New Life
Pills. They never distress or Incon
venience, but always chose the sys
tem, curing colds, headache, Consti
pation, Malaria, 25c at F. G. Frlcke
& Co.
Shorthorns for Kale.
Three good registered Shorthorn
yearling bulls for sale. Also good
fresh milk cows. Mark White.
r
J these hot Summer days you
need a shirt almost every day in
the week.
We have soft collar shirts in a soft thin silky ma
terial, in six shades, white, tan, cream, gray, blue and
pin k
$1.25 and $ 1 .50 Values for $ 1 .00
In neckband shirts we have the famous Fergu
sonMcKinney and Wilson Bros, brands at Si. 00 and
$1.25.
Manhattans at $1.50, $1.75 and $2.00
Glad to show you; we know you'll buy if you
once look.
'Hit Home t lini, Schitfiixr it- Mtrx Cl'itlu.
Jf.uiftu.'MM Shi,1g I 1 1 1
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